Myths of the Great Depression, part 1

The rhetoric surrounding todays economic climate is frighting. Americans are bombarded with news of the worst economy since the Great Depression. Problem is, much of what Americans know about the Great Depression is simply wrong; for example, President Franklin Roosevelts policies stimulated the economy. In truth, Roosevelts policies needlessly prolonged the financial pain. Larry Reed president of the Foundation for Economic Education and author of Great Myths of the Great Depression joins guest host Jessica Corry to enlighten us on what we dont know about the most difficult economic decade in modern history.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• great depression
• fiscal crisis
• bank failure
• FDR
• obama
• larry reed

[Watcher4187]

FDR did make the depression worse. At a time when people were starving he ordered farmers to kill their animals and burn their crops to keep prices high because he thought low prices were the cause of the depression.

Basically, in a time where people could not afford to buy food he made it more expensive and this is just only on example of how he made the depression worse. There are others.

[Watcher4187]

Yeah, those ideas were great. So great in fact that the Supreme Court declared the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) unconstitutional in early 1936 and declared that it was responsible for joblessness of at least two million people, especially sharecroppers and other farm laborers.

Notice how the great Depression lasted a decade but depressions before that quickly went away. That's because we didn't have FDRs around back then destroying the market.

[TacticusPrime]

@Watcher4187 The farmers would have all gone out of business. Then they wouldn't have farms to produce food the next season, and fuck everyone. It was necessary.

[Houshalter]

@jlburnitt, for every program the government creates and everything they buy, all the money for that comes from taxes. When the government hires an employee over here, the economy looses at least one somewhere else. There is a reason the depression was prolonged a decade.

[jlburnitt]

cont'

The DRS bought cattle in counties which were designated emergency areas, for $14 to $20 a head. Animals unfit for human consumption - more than 50 percent at the beginning of the program - were destroyed. The remaining cattle were given to the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation (FSRC) to be used in food distribution to families nationwide. Although it was difficult for farmers to give up their herds, the cattle slaughter program helped many of them avoid bankruptcy.

[jlburnitt]

The Federal Surplus Relief Corporation (FSRC) was created after more than six million pigs were slaughtered to stabilize prices. The pigs went to waste. The FSRC diverted agricultural commodities to relief organizations. Apples, beans, canned beef, flour and pork products were distributed through local relief channels. Cotton goods were later included, to clothe the needy. In 1935, the federal government formed a Drought Relief Service (DRS) to coordinate relief activities.